Elections for the office of Alaska State Senator were held in Alaska on November 2, 2010. State senate seats in all even-numbered districts except District 20, and the District 19 seat were on the ballot in 2010.

The signature-filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in these elections was June 1, 2010, and the primary election day was August 24, 2010.

In Alaska, senators serve four-year terms with no term limits.

The incumbent senator ran for re-election in nine of the ten senate races in 2010. (90%)

Campaign contributions

This chart shows how many candidates ran for state senate in Alaska in past years and the cumulative amount of campaign contributions in state senate races, including contributions in both primary and general election contests. All figures come from Follow The Money.[2]

Year

Number of candidates

Total contributions

2008

19

$863,330

2006

24

$1,560,798

2004

28

$1,867,581

2002

41

$2,196,193

Incumbency

Unopposed incumbents

Five incumbents (50%) face no competition in the November 2 general election and are thus, barring unforeseen circumstances, guaranteed re-election in November.

Article II, Section 2 of the Alaska Constitution states: A member of the legislature shall be a qualified voter who has been a resident of Alaska for at least three years and of the district from which elected for at least one year, immediately preceding his filing for office. A senator shall be at least twenty-five years of age and a representative at least twenty-one years of age.